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massive beast. Of course they’ll attack democracy in
their own back yard. But – heavy the head that wears
the crown – when they stay out of wars we call them
filthy cowards – as my grandma used to say – if they
get involved, they’re imperialists.”
It’s nice arguing with Julie but I know I’ll never win,
and she graciously changes the subject herself to the
fact that her dad wanted to emigrate to Russia and her
mum to South Africa, the former for idealism, the latter
because “They got bungalows!” At heart Julie is a
patriot, and emigration is not the done thing.
“That phrase ‘whinging poms’ it comes from when
English people were encouraged to emigrate to Australia
for 20 pounds, and they came back, and they literally
cried for three weeks in relief, because they missed the
rain, and the dreariness. That’s the fucking greatness,
and the perversity of the English people for me. Every
perverse, dreary weird thing about our people.”
Changing the subject myself, I remark that Julie often
writes about Hollywood, and spends as much time
praising the greats of the past as she does slagging off
the stars of today. What’s the difference?
“In 30 years time, will a drag queen dress up as
Sandra Bullock? Don’t think so! Sorry; that’s facile …
my mother had no politics but what made her in a way
a feminist was watching Bette Davis films; seeing her
in Jezebel saying ‘Ah wiiill wear mah red dress’: the
idea of women behaving as they pleased, stroppily and
BUY Julie Burchill books online from and
strongly. It was the only thing to watch back then and
weirdly watching them on a rainy day is a real part of
my Englishness. God I sound gay, I sound like Morrissey!
But anyway you don’t get strong women on screen
any more, a ‘tough character’ in films today is either
tough cos she’s hiding her neediness, or she’s a psychopath
… I don’t think I’m a ‘strong woman’, I hate that
patronising phrase, I think I’m a ‘tough broad’, that’s
what I used to see on screen which I never do anymore.
They’re either needy weedy vulnerable wickle things
waiting to be hugged – or total fucking looners.”
As was often the case of her columns I find myself
agreeing with something I hadn’t particularly dwelled
on. It’s true that Hollywood seems to stand still while
society moves on in a lot of respects.
“There’s a great book by Molly Haskell called
From Reverence To Rape and she shows how, just as
women were starting to assert themselves in the real
world in the 60s, that was exactly the time Hollywood
started to make films like Easy Rider, One Flew Over
the Cuckoos Nest, where women are literally either
bitches, whores or rapees. Joan Collins played a missionary
nun twice in the 50s! Not any more. Do you
think I’m like Nurse Ratchett?”
I get short shrift however when I suggest that Basic
Instinct is the height of misogyny. “Oh no, that film just
makes you want to go gay! Every girl likes that film
for a reason, it’s the first time they showed a lesbian
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